Expressing machine



June 12, 1951 R. E. KILLIP 2,556,499

EXPRESSING MACHINE Filed May 51, 1 944 v i 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 F/GZ.

I 1 5-4 Inventor A ll orne y June 12, 1951 R. E. KlLLlP 2,556,499

EXPRESSING MACHINE Filed May 31, 1944 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 In ventor y Ff's/ZZT/CQ F June 12, 1951 Filed May 31, 1944 R. E. KlLLIP EXPRESSING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Invent? By.

- Attorney 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 R. E. KlLLlP EXPRESSING MACHINE Attorney F/GS.

June '12, 1951 Filed May 51, 1944 June 12, 1951 R. E. KILLIP EXPRESSING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed May 31, 1944 Inventor A ltorney 8 Sheet'sSheet 7 Filed May 51, 1944 F/GZ g? Inventor A [tor -n e y June 12, 1951 R. E. KILLIP I 2,556,499

EXPRESSING MACHINE Filed May 51, 1944 a Sheets-Sheet s A ttorne'y Patented June 12, 1951 EXPBESSING MACHINE Robert Edward Killip, West Kirby, England, as-

signor to J. Bibby & Sons Limited, Liverpool, England, a British company Application May 31, 1944, Serial No. 538,145 In Great Britain June 1, 1943 8 Claims. (01. 100-48} This invention is for improvements in or relating to expressing machines and is particularly concerned with a machine for expressing liquids such as oil from solids such as nut kernels.

The invention is concerned with expressing machines of the type (hereinafter referred to as of the type specified) comprising a frame, a cage having pores or interstices in its walls and supported on said frame, and an extruding worm or impeller in said cage, the cage having an openable part or parts so as to provide access to the interior thereof for the purpose, for example, of relieving blockages and renewing or repairing the warm or any interior parts of the cage. Material to be treated is fed into the cage and is extruded therefrom through a restricted opening by the worm so that liquid matter in the material is expressed therefrom and exuded through the wallof the cage. Heretofore the axis of the cage has been arranged horizontally and has generally been made in two sections bolted together to enable it to be opened. v

Due to the heavy stresses to which it is subjected the cage has to be made strong and heavy and opening of the cage by dismantling and removing a section thereof to provide access to the interior is a heavy and laborious procedure. One object of the present invention is, therefore, to

provide an expressing machine in which access can be gained to the interior of the cage, easily and without involving the laborious lifting of the heavy movable section of the cage.

A further object of the invention is to make certain parts of the machine, which are subjected to relatively heavy wear, interchangeable so that as they become worn to a certain extent they can be located in a position in which wear is less acute. Thus, the effective life of each part is lengthened considerably.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an expressing machine which is of compact construction and in which the driving gear is substantially totally enclosed.

According to the present invention there is provided an expressing machine of the type" specified wherein the cage has an openable part or parts mountedso as to open in a substantially horizontal direction for the purpose described. By arranging for the openable part of the cage to open in a horizontal direction it is possible to eliminate the necessity for the full Weight of such part to be handled during the normal operation of'opening the cage. This is not the case when opening of the cage involves the raising or'lowering of the openable member. It

t I 2 possible with an arrangement according to the present invention to make the cage so that at the most, when the means holding the parts of the cage closed have been released, only a small load or small amount of friction has to be overcome in moving the openable part to the open position.

According to a further feature of thepresent invention there is provided an expressing machine of the type specified wherein the cage has an openab-le part supported on a hinge having its axis arranged substantially vertically for the purpose described. It will be appreciated that with this arrangement the full weight of the movable part of the cage does not have to be taken during opening of the cage, the movable part of which swings in the manner of an ordinary door. Preferably the cage is in two parts hinged together at one side and secured together at the opposite side by a clamping arrangement.

The draining surfaces of the cage are made up of the usual ring of interior bars clamped together, with small orifices between them, through which the oil is exuded, surrounded by a series of axially spaced rings comprising the strongly constructed and heavy outer part of the cage. Conveniently, the draining surfaces are in at least two and preferably three sections, located one above the other. In. practice it isfound that wear takes place at the outlet end of the cage, i'. e. the end through which the spent solid cake is discharged, much more rapidly than at the middle portion and feed ends. Especially is this so as regards the width of the draining slots. By making the draining surfaces in sections it is possible, when renewing draining bars, to take the section from the inlet end of the cage and use it to replace a partly worn middle section whilst the removed middle section takes the place of the outlet end section which will be removed from the machine as being worn" out. At the most, replacement in this manner will only necessitate the location of a new section at the inlet end.

One embodiment of an expressing machine constructed'in. accordance with the present invention will. now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings. On the drawings-z Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the upper part of the machine, taken on the line I--I' of Figure 7,

FignreZis a vertical sectional view of thelower part of the machine, taken on the line 11-11 of Figure 8;

Figure 3 is a left-hand side elevation partly broken away of the upper part of the machine,

Figure 4 is a left-hand side elevation partly broken away of the lower part of the machine,

Figure 5 is a right-hand side elevation partly broken away of the upper part of the machine,

Figure 6 is a right-hand side elevation, which parts omitted, of the lower part of the machine,

Figure 7 is a view partially in section taken on the line VII-VII of Figure 1,

Figure 8 is a view partially in section taken on' the line VIIIVIII of Figure 2, and

Figure 9 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on line 99 of Figure 3.

The machine comprises a frame In open at opposite sides II for the greater portion of its depth, and having its axis I2 arranged Vertically. The casing is provided at top and bottom with bearings l3, l4 and [5 for a vertical shaft IS, the upper part of which carries an extruding worm .l'! and the lower end of which is provided with a worm-wheel l8 which meshes with a worm 18a on a driving shaft IQ for the machine. The frame Ill houses a cylindrical cage 20 which surrounds the extruding worm I1 and its slidably supported at its lower end on the inner periphery 2| of an annular drain 22 in which oil exuded through the wall of the cage is collected. A hopper 23 and feed worm 24 are provided at the upper part of the machine by which the material from which the oil is to be expressed is fed into the space between the extruding worm l1 and the inner surface of the cage 20, the feed worm 24 being driven with the extruding worm shaft l6 as hereinafter described.

'The cage 20 has its axis arranged vertically and comprises a series of vertical bars 25 (see Figure 7) clamped together in abutting engagement, but with small draining spaces between them so that they form the usual draining surfaces, and surrounded and supported against the pressure of the material being expelled by heavy rings 26 which are spaced apart axially and form the outside of the cage. The bars 25 are divided at 21 into three separate draining surface sections vertically so that replacement can be effected in the economical manner above set forth. The cage 20, comprising the rings 26, is made in two halves hinged together at one side by a hinge pin 28 which is secured to the upper and lower parts of the casing at 29 and 30 respectively. The two halves of the cage 20 are secured together opposite the hinge pin 28, so as to close the cage, by a clamping arrangement comprising a U section clamping bar 3| which extends from end to end of the cage and embraces wedge-shaped members 32 on the meeting edges of the two halves of the cage. A pair of hand operable screws 33 are journalled in the wall of the machine frame and are threaded into the clamping bar 3!, one towards one end and one towards the other, the inner ends of each of the screws having a collar 34 which is embraced by the wedge members 32 on the edges of the half sections of the cage, when the cage is closed, so as to prevent axial movement of the screws. To secure the cage in the closed position the clamping bar, the interior 35 of which is of wedge form to conform to the wedge shape of the members 32 it embraces, is forced, by turning the screws, onto said members and this draws the two halves of the cage together. improvement on the general method of securing the halves of the cage together by a multiplicity of nuts and bolts all of which have to be re- This method of securing the cage is an 4 moved when it is desired to open the cage. The wedge faces 35 of the clamp and the members 32 which they engage are designed with a slight inclination so that very little force is required to secure the two halves of the cage firmly together. In addition to having a large diameter handwheel 36 for its operation each screw 33 has a sprocket wheel 31 and a sprocket chain 38 runs over the two sprocket wheels. One of the sprocket wheels 3'! runs loose on its screw 33 but it can be secured thereto by a pin clutch 39 operable by hand and housed in the boss of the handwheel. For the initial releasing movement of the clamping bar or the final closing thereof, the pin I removal of the bar 3!, prior to final tightening and after slackening, the pin clutch is engaged so that both screws are operated simultaneously by the rotation of one hand-wheel. As the clamp 3| is of heavy construction it has a runner 40 at its upper part adapted to run on a rail 4! which takes the weight of the bar. This clamping arrangement forms the subject matter of my copending application for patent, Serial No. 538,147, filed May 31, 1944, now Patent N0. 2,522,876, patented September 19, 1950.

The aforementioned drain 22 for the coil is surrounded by a circular trough 42 into which the oil runs and this trough has its bottom 43 made of perforated metal for one half of its circumference. The upper surface of the perforated bottom is scraped by rotating scrapers 44 carried on a railway 45 surrounding the trough and driven by gearing 45 from theextrusion worm shaft, the railway 45 having a toothed annulus 4611 which meshes with the gear wheel 46. The expressed oil passes through the perforated bottom to the lower part of the trough from which it is withdrawn mainly via an outlet 41 whilst the small extrudings, which have managed to pass through the cage, are continuously scraped from said perforated bottom with the remainder of the oil, and to a discharge opening 48. The opening 48 is in the bottom of the trough 42, the perforated bottom 43 being interrupted immediately over the opening 48. The main mass of meal or cake is extruded through a discharge orifice 49 at the base of the hollow interior of the cage and falls onto a table 50 from which it is swept to a discharge opening 5| by rotating paddles 52 on a boss 52a keyed on the extrusion worm shaft Hi. The size of the orifice 49 can be adjusted by a cone member 49a through gearing 49b and a hand-wheel 490, so as to vary the resistance to expulsion of the material and the degree of oil extraction.

The drive to the feed worm 24 comprises a crank 53, driven from a gear wheel 54,(which also drives the gearing 46) on the worm-wheel [8, connectingrod 55 and ratchet mechanism 56. This ratchet mechanism comprises a ratchet wheel 56a secured on the shaft 24a of the feed worm 24, and a cage 5% loosely mounted on the shaft 240. and carrying a pawl 56c adapted when the cage 56b is moved in one direction by the connecting rod 51 to engage the ratchet wheel 56a and impart movement to the feed worm 24. To limit the shown inFigure 5 and it will be notedthat the upper part 55a of the connecting rod terminates in a plunger 51 slidable in the cylinder 5111 against the action of the spring 58, the cylinder 51a being attached to the upper part 55 of the connecting rod. When there is a large resistance to feeding of material to the extrusion Worm ll, the spring 58 compresses and takes up part of the stroke of the connecting rod and the stroke of the pawl, and therefore angular movement of the ratchet wheel and feed worm 24 is correspondingly reduced.

The gearing and a major portion of the movable parts of the machine are substantially totally enclosed in the lower part Ilia of the casing.

The upper part of the machine is enclosed in a readily removable casing 63-.

A fan 63' is provided to blow cold air on to the lower surface of the gear case, to prevent the lubricating oil in the gear case from becoming overheated.

I claim:

1. An expressing machine of the type specified and including a cage having its axis substantially vertical, said cage including an openable part, a hinge having a substantially vertical axis and connecting the openable part for movement in a substantially horizontal direction, releasable means for securing the openable part of the cage in closed position, a drain to receive liquid exuded through the wall of the cage, a sump for the liquid surrounding said drain, and having a perforated bottom through which the liquid percolates, a scraper located in said sump, and means for traversing the scraper over the bottom of the sump to remove matter separated out from the liquid.

2. An expressing machine of the type specified and comprising a frame, a cage having its axis vertical, said cage including an openable part, a,

hinge pin on the frame having its axis vertical and supporting the openable part of the cage for opening movement in a horizontal direction, bearings at the upper and lower part of the frame, an extruding worm in the cage having its axis vertical and journallecl in said bearings, releasable means for securing the openable part of the cage in the closed position, a drain for receiving liquid exuded through the Wall of the cage, a sump surrounding said drain to receive liquid therefrom, a perforated bottom in said sump for the discharge of liquid therefrom, a travelling scraper for said bottom, a table at the lower part of the frame for receiving spent material from the extruding worm, means for discharging said material from said table, a feeding hopper for the extruding worm at the upper part of the frame, a feed worm for feeding material from the hopper to the extruding worm, a variable stroke mechanism for imparting a step-by-step motion to the feed worm, gearing at the lower part of the machine for the driving thereof, and an enclosing casing at the lower part of the frame for said gearing.

3. An expressing machine including a sectional cage divided vertically to provide at least one openable part, and a vertically disposed element for supporting the openable part for swinging in a horizontal plane, the cage including drainage sections arranged in superimposed relation and 6 external annular reinforcing members secured t the drainage sections, the sections and included reinforcing members being separable one from the other and the sections being of equal lengths for selective effective placement in any position longitudinally of the cage to provide for shifting the sections according to wear in use.

4. A construction as defined in claim 3 including material feeding means arranged above and for delivery of material to the cage, material crushing means extending longitudinally of and below the cage, and means cooperating with the crushing means below the cage to drive the crushing means. I

5. A construction as defined in claim 3 including material feeding means arranged above and for delivery of material to the cage, material crushing means extending longitudinally of and below the cage, means cooperating with the crushing means below the cage to drive the crushing means, and means arranged at one side of the cage for operating the material feeding means.

6. A construction as defined in claim 3 including material feeding means arranged above and for delivery of material to the cage, material crushing means extending longitudinally of and below the cage, means cooperating with the crushing means below the cage to drive the crushing means, and means arranged at one side of the cage for operating the material feeding means, and including means for automatically compensating for the operation of the feeding means under clogging of the material in the feeding means.

7. A construction as defined in claim 3, including a material feeding means for delivering material to the cage, said feeding means including a feed worm, a variable stroke mechanism for imparting a step-by-step motion to the feed worm, gearing for operating the variable stroke mechanism, and a casing for enclosing said gearing.

8. An expressing machine of the type specified and including a cage comprising two parts, one of which is openable, means supporting said openable part for opening movement in a substantially horizontal direction for the purpose described, releasable means for securing said parts of the cage in closed position, and a drainage wall in the cage divided transversely to the vertical axis thereof into at least two sections interchangeable in position in the cage with respect to one another.

ROBERT EDWARD KILLIP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 315,529 McGowan Apr. 14, 1885 1,245,950 Neufeldt Nov. 6, 1917 1,354,528 Wertenbruch Oct. 5, 1920 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 24,543 Great Britain u of 1910 

